There are known various cutters to be used for grass or hedge trimming. Some of these devices even collect the trimmings after the cutting operation. Most of the hedge trimmers are relatively cumbersome to operate; some are heavy and others have limited trimming retention capacity. Some of these devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,153,771; 4,361,001; 5,357,736; 5,588,289; and 5,862,595.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,771 (Orr) a grass cutter and hedge trimmer is disclosed that has a knife with blades formed with opposite cutting edges of identical formation so that one side of the blade will not cut more material than the other. The cutting mechanism and hood are connected to an elongated handle which will move depending upon the angle of the hood or skirt 6. There is no accommodation made in Orr for the collection of cuttings or trimmings after the cutting operation. Also it would be difficult to hold the Orr device when trimming hedges or shrubbery.
In Ahnond U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,001 a lawn mower is disclosed. In this prior art patent, a hover-type lawn mower is provided with a cover which fits over the shroud or housing for the rotatable blade. The cover is provided with openings so that the air flow therethrough forms an air cushion and also transports cut grass and leaves to a collecting area in the cover. The cover is further provided with releasable fastening means to the shroud, so that the cover can be removed when it is desired to empty the collected cut grass and leaves therein. Almond does provide for collection of debris; however, the collection area of Almond is very limited and not very practical for relatively large hedge trimmings.
The Thomas patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,736 discloses a lawn mower with grass collection means; this device is not a practical cutter for hedges and the like. Thomas described his device as a lawn mower of the type which collects grass cuttings which includes a motor driven blade rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, at least one fan rotatable about the same axis, and a grass collecting system of the type in which grass collection is aided by suction from an airstream produced by the fan. It includes a closure which is selectively adjustable to at least two positions; one in which a grass collection aperture in a grass box is closed and a debris collection aperture in the grass box is open, and the other in which the grass collection aperture is open and the debris collection aperture is closed. A second embodiment includes a closure which is selectively adjustable to at least two positions; one in which both the grass collection aperture and the debris collection aperture are open, and the other in which only the grass collection aperture is open. Thomas' device is too heavy and too cumbersome to use as a hand-held hedge trimmer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,289 (Wilson) discloses a cutting tool for gardens and workshops that has a driven impeller to accommodate transporting clippings from a cutting area to a collection means. The distance the clippings must travel in the Wilson device is substantial, thereby allowing clipping clogging possibilities to be high. Also, the device is relatively heavy with a motor in the cutting body A and a motor located in the back pack as shown in Wilson's FIG. 12. The device is heavy, complicated, somewhat expensive, and could be difficult because of its weight to wear and use for any extended period of time.
Keane U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,595 discloses a hand-holdable trimmer for garden and lawn applications that has a relatively long elongated housing defining an air passage extending from the trimmer's rotating trimmer head to a collection container for cuttings mounted distally on the housing. An impeller wheel driven by the trimmer motor causes air to flow under positive pressure from the region surrounding the trimmer head through the housing air passage to eventually deliver the trimmer cuttings to the collection container. A dual, axially adjustable trimmer head assembly also is provided to more efficiently cut grass, weeds, etc. into small pieces capable of being transferred to the collection container. Keane uses a flexible string as the cutting means and requires a long conduit from cutting means to collection means thereby increasing the possibility of clogging of especially coarse hedge trimmings therein.